After a long negotiation with Port Stephens Council the old BP site at Karuah has finally been leased to the Karuah Working Together Committee to become the Karuah Centre.
After the bypass removed traffic from the town, the committee worked towards improvoing the eyesore that was the vacant BP petrol station into a functioning centre.
The centre will be used as a place for tourists and locals to use. Port Stephens Council bought the site from BP after the station closed as part of its profit making portfolio.
The underground tanks were taken out and the soil around the tanks treated for contamination.
The building deteriorated to a poor condition. It had windows broken by rocks and holes in floors, forcing the council to erect a wire fence around the site.
“It was a terrible introduction to the town,” member of the board for the Karuah Centre, Dave Benson said.
Dave is the founding president of the Karuah Working Together committee.
The committee was founded to help the town cope with the effect of the bypass with representatives from all the major committees in the town invited to be part of the group.
The Karuah Working together committee started serious talks with Port Stephens Council two years ago to establish what would be done with the building.
A business proposal was put together and accepted by council.
The proposal stated council would give the committee 25 thousand to do up the building while the committee would have to contribute the other 30 thousand.
Council would then give the building to the committee rent free for the first three years if they could find people to sub-let the office space from them.
It was decided the office space would be leased out to the chairperson for the NSW state Aboriginal Land Council, Bev Manton, and the NSW Department of Health who were both looking for local office space at the time.
Once accepted by council renovations were started.
The lower floor of the building will open as a tourist bureau, arts and craft centre for local artists and sales and a friendly corner space for locals and tourists to hang out.
The building will also be used to distribute food once a month as part of the smart shop program that is funded by food-bank, a commonwealth government project.
“The building is a positive aspect for both the town and the council,” Dave said.
“The community has really backed the entire project.”
The Karuah Centre will be officially opened on October 12.
Once established it is hoped the centre will be opened seven days a week, with volunteers from the area running the centre.
The money raised at the Karuah Centre will go back into community activities.
The Karuah Working together committee started serious talks with Port Stephens Council two years ago to establish what would be done with the building.
A business proposal was established and accepted by council.
The proposal stated council would give the committee $25,000 to do up the building while the committee would have to contribute the other $30,000.
Council would then give the building to the committee rent free for the first three years if they could find people to sub-let the office space from them.
It was decided the office space would be leased out to the chairperson for the NSW State Aboriginal Land Council, Bev Manton, and the NSW Department of Health who were both looking for local office space at the time.
Once accepted by council, renovations were started.
The lower floor of the building will open as a tourist bureau, arts and craft centre for local artists and sales and a friendly corner space for locals and tourists to use.
The building will also be used to distribute food once a month as part of the Smart Shop program that is funded by Food-Bank, a Commonwealth government project.
“The building is a positive aspect for both the town and the council,” Dave said.
“The community has really backed the entire project.”
The Karuah Centre will be officially opened on October 12.
Once established it is hoped the centre will be opened seven days a week, with volunteers from the area running the centre.
The money raised at the Karuah Centre will go back into community activities.
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